


The Horse and The Hawk

by rumor



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Flarke, Griffollins, Soul Bond
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-13
Updated: 2014-06-13
Packaged: 2018-02-04 13:33:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1780921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rumor/pseuds/rumor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Alyse's prompt: Finn Collins + Clarke Griffin + soulbonding + tattoos.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Horse and The Hawk

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Esyla](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Esyla/gifts).



> Heeeeeey, so I'm making this up as I go along, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! Soulbonding headcanon is my own version that I came up with approximately two hours ago.
> 
> Also I'd like to mention, I LOVE Wells, and I think in the show he's an awesome character, but I have played with that a bit for plot purposes. So no I'm not dense and/or oblivious, I made a deliberate change, please put away your pitchforks.

Clarke sighed at the horse pawing irritably across her ribs, watching the bay for a moment before letting her shirt drop back into place. It always got restless when her mother was in the picture. And unfortunately, this week Abby Griffin was manning the camera of Clarke’s life. She had wrestled said camera out of Clarke’s stubbornly resisting hands, but now that she had hold of it, she was very much a woman on a mission. With another sigh and a last glance at the bathroom mirror, Clarke left to catch her plane.

Rain beat steadily against the windows of the car, a fitting match to her mood as she stared broodingly at the gray streets rolling past. Raven, who kept casting concerned glances at her from the driver’s seat, let silence reign for all of ten minutes.

“You ready for this?” she finally asked.

Clarke sighed. “Ready as I’ll ever be. At least there’ll be stuff to do, I guess.”

“There totally will be!” Raven encouraged. “There are gonna be, what, 400 people at this conference? And you’re gonna be in high demand, with the Earth Project taking off so well. I bet you’ll hardly ever see her.”

She said this last with a confidence that booked no argument, and Clarke couldn’t help the fond glance she sent her friend. Raven never did anything by halves - she was one of the few born with a fully formed mark, after which she was named and which was currently perched contentedly on the side of her neck.

“I hope you’re right. Still, I wish you were coming. I’ve got the general idea of the science, but if they start asking specific questions about the mechanics I’ll be lost.” 

“You’ll do fine,” Raven said firmly. “You’ve got my business cards, right? Just direct any of the mechanic geeks to me.”

“Will do,” Clarke said, a smile pulling at the corner of her mouth.

“It’ll be fine,” Raven repeated, and then they were pulling up at the drop off for departures.

“I know. Thanks, Ray. Keep Bellamy from firing the construction workers while I’m gone.”

“I’ll keep an eye on him. Safe flight! Text me when you land.” Clarke leaned across the console to hug her friend, grabbed her duffle from the back seat, and dashed through the rain with a final wave.

 

* * * * * *

 

She spent the flight with her headphones in, trying very hard not to think. Or at the very least, turn her mind toward work, instead of everything else.

Even leaving the project for a week was a hassle and a half. They were in the middle of construction, and the entire thing was currently a state of barely controlled chaos. Bellamy assured her he could handle it, but it still made her anxious to be away. This was, by far, their biggest venture yet. They’d tried out a few prototypes, a couple homes and local businesses, a small elementary school. Now the Earth Project, which was devoted to designing and building sustainable structures, was renovating an entire college campus.

It was a massive, hugely expensive undertaking. As a result, there was certainly a lot to worry about, but her thoughts kept circling back to her mother. And Wells. And Finn. She determinedly shoved the last from her mind. Finn had nothing to do with this. She hadn’t talked to him in years. Last she heard, he had been in school on the East Coast. A far cry from her construction project in Washington state, or the conference in SoCal.

The conference. Clarke sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day, and pressed a hand against the spot below her heart, where she could feel the horse pacing anxiously. Her mother, chair of ARK, a broad non-profit organization that oversaw and funded various efforts to save the world, was hosting it. Last year had been a focus on health care, food, and clean water in third world countries. This year was ‘Environmental Progress and Sustainability,’ which was how Clarke had been so neatly roped into attending.

The Earth Project could certainly use the press, and it was an excellent chance to network and secure some funding. Plus, she would be able to get a first look at some up-and-coming technology that her team would certainly want to get their hands on. She’d tried to persuade them to send Raven, Monty, or Jasper in her stead, just for that reason, but that idea had been shot down from all quarters. Apparently, when it came to getting funding, only Clarke would do.

Another sigh.

 

* * * * * *

 

It was always a relief to get off a plane, but for once Clarke had to suppress the urge to turn around and get right back on. Instead, she scolded herself for being childish, collected her bag, and headed for Arrivals. Her mother spotted her instantly, breaking into a smile that was only somewhat strained, and Clarke braced herself as she approached. “Clarke, honey!” She returned the hug stiffly, briefly, before stepping back and shifting her duffle’s strap to her shoulder for something to do with her hands.

“Hi, mom.”

“You look well! How was the flight?” Abby tried.

“It was fine.” Abby’s smile faltered slightly, but she mustered it again.

“I’m sure you’re tired. The car’s waiting outside. Have you got everything?”

Clarke only nodded, and followed her mother out into the hot and humid sunshine.

 

* * * * * *

 

Clarke spent an awkward, stilted dinner with her mother in the hotel dining room, and then, mercifully, escaped to her room. She loved her mother, she did, but her betrayal cut deep. Her father was _dead,_ and while she’d gotten over the sharp pain of grief, she didn’t think the deep-seated ache would ever leave. Her father was a brilliant man, a kind man. He, of all people, had not deserved the death he got.

And it was her mother’s fault. Her’s and Wells’. Clarke had examined the situation from every possible angle, had asked both friends and strangers for their opinions, and no matter how she turned it, it all came down to those two. Wells blew the whistle on the scandal, and Abby let her father take the fall for it.

Not to say she was free of guilt. After all, she told Wells in the first place. Stupid, _stupid,_ thinking she could trust him, but she’d been young, in love. Hell, she’d been getting read to _bond_ with him. Her horse, without fail, spent most of its time on her left ribcage. With a minor force of will, she could direct it elsewhere, but generally it settled. When Wells was near, however, it came up to hover curiously around her right shoulder, ears pricked and eyes bright.

Sure, it hadn’t been an instantaneous bond, but those didn’t always happen. Some people fell in love first, and the crossing occurred later, sometimes years after the fact. She and Wells had gotten to the point where they could hold hands, her horse and his Beauceron on their palms, snuggled happily together. And then everything had turned to ruins, and for the first time in her life, the horse hid at the small of her back.

Clarke rolled over with a little more force than necessary, and punched her pillow, blinking back tears. Finn, she told herself sternly, was her fault. She’d had a chance, and she’d turned it down, and she’d have to live with the consequences. The past was the past, and there wasn’t anything she could do to change it. It would be easy to blame Wells and her mother for that, too, but Clarke had been the one to make the choice.

 _Let it go,_ she scolded herself wearily. Tomorrow would be long enough without sleep deprivation on top of it. There was no use dwelling on these things. Wells had moved out of the country, she had a relationship with her mother - strained as it was - and Finn was long, long gone.

So of course, that’s when she saw him at breakfast.


End file.
